Domaine Collotte Marsannay Les Grasses Tites 2020

The Collotte family has grown grapes in Marsannay for four generations, but it wasn't until 1981 that a sixteen-year-old Philippe Collotte bottled the first wine under the family name — a decision that's since built one of the most respected, best-value addresses in the entire Côte de Nuits. His daughter Isabelle joined in 2013 after finishing her studies at the Lycée Viticole de Beaune, sharpening the estate's already meticulous approach further still. Les Grasses Têtes is one of a handful of prized Marsannay lieux-dits that Collotte bottles as single-vineyard wines — sourced from two parcels of old vines, one on Crinoidal limestone (Calcaire à Entroques), the other on Comblanchien — soils Isabelle herself describes as "big clay and big rocks." It's part of a broader push: after thirty years of work and geological surveys, an application is now with the INAO to have Les Grasses Têtes and a handful of its neighbouring lieux-dits formally elevated to Marsannay Premier Cru status.

The wine consistently ranks among the most elegant and best-balanced in Collotte's range: black cherry and cassis meet grilled meat, dark soil tones, cocoa, fresh thyme, and a discreet frame of cedar, unfurling into a palate that's pure, full-bodied, and unmistakably soil-driven. Fine-grained, moderate tannins carry through to a long, complex, well-gripped finish — critic John Gilman scored the 2022 91 points, with a suggested drinking window stretching to 2050.